Fear of death can be crippling unless one knows how to benefit from it by using that fear constructively. The following quote by Mark Twain captures the essence of how to do so.
The idea is to use fear of death as a motivation to live life to the fullest. Since one does not know when death can strike, one can start every day by feeling thankful to be alive than taking life for granted. It helps to do so when one realises that millions of people around the world do not make it to a new day! Fear of death can make one truly grateful to life and everything in it.
Once one realises how every new day is a gift from life, one can do one's best to live every single day to the fullest without unreasonable guilt of past or worry of future. This will lead to living in the present moment, and that has the power to make miracles happen in one's life.
The fear of death can make one love others better. Since one does not know about the arrival time of death, one will take every opportunity to express their love and caring to people who matter. At the same time, one will not be bothered unreasonably by people who do not really matter.
One is afraid of death due to two main reasons. First, death wipes out one's physical body, and for most people that also means losing their "self" or "identity". This could be one of the reasons why many people want their own progeny. That type of physical continuity makes one believe that one has cheated death because one can still go on living after death through the progeny. Therefore, such folks can use fear of death to leave a legacy in the form of a child, a book or any other creation.
Many people find it disgustingly fearful to imagine their own decomposing body after death. It takes a little thinking to realise that it does not matter what happens once one is dead. Death in itself need not be painful. It is the process leading to death that can be painful. What truly matters is not life after death, but life before death!
The second reason people are afraid of death is that they defer living their dream life to tomorrow or to a future date, and if they die today their dreams will remain unfulfilled.
So, if you are truly afraid of death, use that fear to live your dream life without deferring it to a future date. That means, from this very moment of reading this blog, visualise and act how to live your dreams today so that you are ready even if death visits you tomorrow. Do something you love, and love someone as much as you love yourself. All the best!
